A 2-0 lead in the first period wasn’t enough for the Blues, who lost to the Hurricanes 4-2 on Sunday. Carolina’s Eric Staal proved to be a force too great for the St. Louis—his hat trick tied the game in the second period and gave the Hurricanes the lead in the third.
Petr Cajanek got the Blues on the board in the first period with a power-play goal assisted by Dean McAmmond and Kevin Dallman at the 2:00 mark. Mike Sillinger made it 2-0 with another goal on the power-play at the 10:31 mark. Dallas Drake and Dallman were credited with the assists.
After stopping all 13 shots he saw in the first period, Blues goaltender Curtis Sanford remained perfect until Ray Whitney got Carolina on the board wit ha power-play goal at the 5:25 mark of the second period. Then at the 16:33 mark of the second, Staal beat Sanford on a power-play to tie the game at 2-2. It was his 27th goal of the season.
It remained tied, until the 10:34 mark of the third period, when Staal scored his 28th goal to make it 3-2. He earned his hat trick, when he scored on a power-play with nine seconds remaining in the game. It was his 29th goal of the season.
The Blues lost all five games of their road trip, which concluded yesterday. They scored just four goals on the trip and were shut out twice. Overall, they’ve lost five straight games. They’re back home on Tuesday to host the New Jersey Devils.
